The wedding of Henk and Jenny

Henk and Jenny married on 9 August 2008. The wedding ceremony was performed in the Santo Niño Church,
Tacloban City, Leyte. The ceremony was followed by a reception in Le Jardin de Tacloban.

Henk and Jenny decided to have a Filipino wedding, with a large entourage, and with all the traditional attributes
like arrhae, chord, veil, and candle. The theme of the wedding was Filipiniana, the motif burgundy and gold. The groom
had a burgundy barong, the bridesmaids beautiful burgundy dresses.

The vows

Priest:

Dearly beloved, Henk and Jenelyn, you are here today to seal your love with an eternal bond before the Church.
I assure you of the prayers of the community that God may pur His abundant blessings on your love and help you carry
out the duties of the married state. And you, dear sponsors, parents, brothers ans sisters, relatives and friends
of Henk and Jenelyn, may I ask you to help them with your prayers and accept them as a new couple in our Christian
community.

May I now ask you to answer truthfully the following questions.

Jenelyn, did you come here of your own free will, to bind yourself forever in the love and service of your husband?

Jenny:

Yes, father.

Priest:

Henk, did you come here of your own free will, to bind yourself forever in the love and service of your wife?

Henk:

Yes, father.

Priest:

Are you both ready to raise as good Christians the children whom God will give you?

Henk and Jenny:

Yes, father.

Priest:

Henk and Jenelyn, since you wish to contract Holy Matrimony, please join your right hands and express your
intention before God and His Church.

Henk and Jenny joined their right hands.

Priest:

Jenelyn, do you take Henk, here present, for your lawful husband, according to the rite of our Holy Mother
the Church?

Jenny:

Yes, I do.

Priest:

Do you give yourself to him as his wife?

Jenny:

Yes, I do.

Priest:

Do you accept him as your lawful husband?

Jenny:

Yes, I do.

Priest:

Henk, do you take Jenelyn, here present, for your lawful wife, according to the rite of our Holy Mother
the Church?

Henk:

Yes, I do.

Priest:

Do you give yourself to her as her husband?

Henk:

Yes, I do.

Priest:

Do you accept her as your lawful wife?

Henk:

Yes, I do.

Henk and Jenny:

Grant us, o Lord, to be one heart and one soul, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer,
in sickness and in health, until death do us part.

Priest:

And I, by the authority of the Church, calling on all those present here as witnesses, confirm and bless the bond of marriage
which you have contracted. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

All present:

Amen.

The wedding from A to Z

ang awiting

Title of a song by Yeng Constantino. The sisters of the bride and groom sang this song as a duet during the reception.
To the surprise of everyone, they sang it in perfect Tagalog!

arrhae

Arrhae, or coins, are a Filipino wedding tradition. The groom drops 13 coins in the bride's opened hands, as a
sign of his dedication to her welfare. Henk and Jenny used 4 Dutch guilders as a symbol of Henk's past, 4 Filipino
pesos as a symbol of Jenny's past, and 5 euro coins of different denominations, all minted in 2008, symbolizing their
common future.

barong

A barong is a traditional Filipino shirt. It is worn on formal occasions, instead of shirt and tie. On the wedding
day, Henk had a burgundy barong, the other men of the entourage a white one.

cake

The wedding cake was a creation of Amiel Enage. It consisted of five layers. The bottom was chocolate cake, the next
layer walnut cake, the other three layers were made of polystyrene. During the reception, Henk and Jenny cut the first
slice of the cake.

candle

During a Filipino church wedding, the candles are lit by two of the secondary sponsors, to "light our path ahead":
the candle sponsors. The candle sponsors of Henk and Jenny were Henk's sister and her husband.

capitol

The capitol is the seat of the government of Leyte. This white landmark building was the first of three sites
of the pictorial of Henk and Jenny. Part of the entourage was also present here.

catering

Catering was in the capable hands of Dotie Capucion and her team.

chord

The chord is another Filipino wedding tradition. Two of the secondary sponsors, the chord sponsors, use a
chord to bind bride and groom together. The chord is usually in the form of an 8, and placed over the heads of
the bride and groom, over the veil.

Erwin Delima was responsible for the bride's hair and make-up, and the groom's hair.
Kris Veranda took care of the maid of honour and the bridesmaids.

josé karlos

José Karlos is a cafe near the church. The roadside terrace outside this cafe was the second site of the
pictorials. Here, they worked with props, like a glass of mango shake with two straws, and a book by Filipino
author Jose Rizal.

le jardin

The reception venue was Le Jardin de Tacloban.

leyte park hotel

The Leyte Park Hotel was the basis of Henk and Jenny during their stay in Tacloban. Henk's family also stayed in
this hotel.

kuracha

Kuracha is a traditional dance from the Leyte/Samar region. The dance depicts the courtship between rooster
and hen. The kuracha is often danced by the bride and groom on weddings, while the guests throw money to the dancing
couple. In this case, the kuracha was danced by two of the principal sponsors.

morning

On the morning wedding day, the groom woke alone in his room, and later got company from his best man. The bride had
two connecting rooms, where she stayed with her maid of honour and bridesmaids. The bride and groom were not allowed
to see each other on the wedding day until inside the church. They passed messages by SMS or via the bridesmaids.

Bride and groom rose early, and from 7:30 they received the hairdresser, make-up artists, the film crew, the
photographer and his team, the designer of the wedding gown, and the wedding coordinator with her assistants.

photography

Dave Martinez was responsible for the wedding photography. Some of the
wedding photos are on his website. As you can see,
Dave and his team did a great job.

principal sponsors

Principal sponsors are couples and individuals, older and wiser than the bride and groom, that are important
to the couple: Uncles, aunts, close family friends. During the wedding ceremony they play the role of witnesses. During
the reception they are the guests of honour (together with the parents of the couple). After the wedding they are expected
to provide advice and guidance to the couple, they become godparents to the couple. Henk and Jenny have thirty principal
sponsors, fifteen male and fifteen female, relatives and family friends of Jenny's family.

rings

The wedding rings were made by the Nicolasora goldsmith and jeweller shop.

santo niño church

Henk and Jenny married in the Santo Niño Church, the largest church of Tacloban.

santo niño shrine and heritage museum

The last location for the pictorials was the shell sculpture inside Santo Niño Shrine and Heritage Museum.
The photo in the banner of this website was made in 2007 on the same spot.

secondary sponsors

Unlike the principal sponsors, who only have to be present and witness the ceremony, the secondary
sponsors play an active part during the church ceremony. There are usually three pairs of secondary sponsors:
candle sponsors (who will light the candles), veil sponsors (who will place the veil) and chord sponsors (who will
place the chord). Secondary sponsors are often siblings, cousins, and close friends of the couple. Three of the
secondary sponsors were related to Henk, the other three were related to or close friends of Jenny.

veil

The veil is placed by the veil sponsors over the head and shoulders of the bride and the shoulders of the
groom, to "clothe them as one".

wedding coordinator

It is difficult to organize a wedding, especially when the groom lives on another continent. The help of a
professional wedding coordinator is indispensible. The wedding day of Henk and Jenny was organized very well by
Cham Garrido.